6 Hen Party Ideas You Can Use Without Much Preparation

Who knew another name for a bachelorette party is called “hen party” funny right? Well yes, so I thought. A hen party or a bachelorette party, as we love to call it, is a special party given for a woman who is about to get married, typically one attended by women only. It is a gathering of most loved friends and relatives of the soon-to-be-bride to enjoy the night out and have a lot of fun before she finally walks down the aisle and becomes a wife. 

Even though Hen Parties are planned to be fun and exciting, especially for the bride to be and her friends, it can sometimes be hard work planning the entire party. Firstly you need to plan everything from the venue to the drinks and food, the activities and games to play, all of these are a huge weight on the planner or organizers. Sometimes your dress gets destroyed, lipstick stains all over you, or you end up dealing with a drunk friend.

Some hen parties can get a little embarrassing for the bride especially if strippers are involved. Imagine your in-laws participating in your bachelorette party and the stripper ends up giving you a lap dance. Embarrassing right? Well don’t worry, even though these get uncomfortable, I am sure your in-laws will definitely understand, or better still, plan a second party for the night to get wild.

A hen party has long been an ancient tradition that originated from Europe, where a bride to be is dressed in fancy clothes and is surrounded by loved ones - both family and friends to have fun and make memories. It’s the ultimate girls or ladies day out, it can be done either at night or during the day, depending on the mood and goal of the night. The maid of honor or the organizers go above and beyond to make sure the party is bride deserving and the bride to be is going to have a good time. They do wild things like drink wine, get tequila shots and so much more. The bride and her friends play games like how well the bachelorette knows the groom, bachelorette scavenger games and so much more.

The party is sometimes surrounded by in-laws and relatives handing gifts and having fun, although it is rather rare now. Some awkward moments like having a stripper and lap dancing might also occur with your girlfriends and you who happens to be close in not an intimate way! It’s always important to make the event less toxic but more of fun by not over drinking, cause sometimes hen parties are wildly known for blowing up and going wrong, with friends stepping on each other’s toes and getting wildly drunk. 

Bachelorette party, Hen(s) party, Hen(s) night or Hen(s) do, is a party held for a woman who is about to get married. The terms Hen Party, Hen do or Hen night are used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada, while the terms hens party or hens night are common in Australia and New Zealand, and the term bachelorette party is common in the United States.

Overall it is an event that is carried out prior to the day before a woman walks down the aisle. In other countries like Africa, they call it a bridal shower, luncheon and so much more. It is a fun long lasting event that occurs for a longer period of time where alcohol, drinks, food, pictures and so much more is involved. A hen party and a Bachelorette party is pretty much the same thing, although a hen party can sometimes be more expensive with elaborate costumes and the bride gets to wear a sash and a tiara, and sometimes it can take hours for the bride and her bridesmaids to get ready and actually make it to the event.

Some people are under the impression that a Hen Party does tend to be tamer than its American counterpart of the Bachelorette party. Somehow, bachelorette parties have been associated with exotic dancers dressed as police officers that eventually gyrate and strip in front of the group. But a hen party can equally be wild, it all depends on the personal preference and taste of the bride-to-be. At the end of the day, it shouldn’t matter if the event isn’t wild or calm, but the bride-to-be is able to have a lot of fun by making it memorable.

Instead of booking hotel rooms, rent a house on Airbnb away from home so the whole group can stay together for the weekend. Plus, with a house, you get other perks like a kitchen - perfect for stocking up with snacks and drinks - or even a pool to fill with all the swan floats your heart desires.

Make the bride-to-be feel super special with cute accessories just for her like a sash, headband, cute crown or special party cup. Whatever you do, just make sure she stands out from the rest of the group - it's her final fling after all! 

The bride wants her guests to be relaxed and comfortable, and to achieve this through the minimal amount of costs to the guests. I’ll admit it’s easy to cut costs on a hen party but in reality, proper planning and negotiating can get the right deal for a hen party. Also, a key factor is notice!! Giving people sufficient notice & facilitating payment in stages works best. 

Ladies who love the relaxation of being pampered and primed to perfection will jump for joy when they find out you’re having a mobile spa hen party. This entails a fully qualified beauty therapist coming to the location of your choice and carrying out a pamper session for you all. Whether it’s in the comfort of your own home, or in a fancy hotel, somewhere plush, the spa really is mobile and will come to wherever you are.

I don’t need to emphasis on how extremely important it is to have all the brides favorite music and songs readily available to get her moving. 

The food and drinks need to be on point by ensuring it meets the taste and requirements of the bride and her guests. You can start planning on the food and drinks ahead of time by going for taste testings before settling on a menu.

Challenge the bride by testing her knowledge of her other half with that favorite hen party game, the Mr. and Mrs. Quiz! Get everyone involved by giving each hen a question to ask and they can choose the forfeit if the bride gives a wrong answer, making her drink a shot or putting on an item of fancy clothes is a great idea.

Ask each hen to write down (anonymously) on a slip of paper with their favorite or funniest memory with the bride. If you have some people in attendance who might not be that close (such as members of the groom’s family or work colleagues) you could also include first impressions. Then the bride has to read them out and guess who wrote it. This is a great way to involve the bride with the ice breaking and allows people to find out more about her from her friend's perspectives.

Compile a list of statements about the bride, some of which are true, and some which are funny and false. Read them out and get the hens to guess if it’s true or false. It’s fun to see what people believe what's true about the bride!

Pulp Friction? Sugar Daddy? Bachelorette Bash?  Divide everyone up in small groups and read out a list of names which everyone has to guess if they are nail varnish names or the titles of *ahem* Adult Films. The team who gets the most rights win! 

This one is a lot of fun, and manage to take care of the decorations too! Write down 20 embarrassing questions and place them in 20 separate balloons.

Throughout the party, have guests pop the balloons and make the bride either answer the question or take a shot! Perfect for a giggle over a few drinks – just check that your party venue is happy with all the balloon popping!

A Hen Party or a Hen Night is basically a bachelorette party as the Americans popularly call it. It is a day where ladies, friends and all the bride's relatives come together to celebrate the bride and all her wonderful self before she gets officially married. It is a party that can sometimes get weird, awkward, wild but most importantly fun. Brides get dressed in cute clothing that is accessorized with sash, tiara and so much more.